The invention relates to improvements in pulleys or sheaves (hereinafter called pulleys) in general, and more particularly to improvements in pulleys which can be utilized with advantage to receive torque from and/or to transmit torque to rotary aggregates in motor vehicles such as, for example, combustion engines, electric motors, dynamos (light generators) , air conditioning units and/or others. Still more particularly, the invention relates to pulleys which can be utilized to transmit torque between the rotary input/output element of a prime mover (such as a combustion engine in a motor vehicle) and the rotary input output element of an auxiliary aggregate such as dynamo or an air conditioning unit in a motor vehicle.
It is already known to provide a pulley with coaxial input and output members which are rotatable with and relative to each other, and with a torque transmitting damper which yieldably opposes rotation of the input and output members relative to one another. The damper can comprise coil springs or springs of an elastomeric material. It is also known to provide a bearing which is installed between and permits rotation of the input and output members relative to each other, as well as a vibration damping device which also operates between the input and output members.
A drawback of conventional pulleys of the above outlined character is that they are too bulky and/or too expensive and/or that they occupy a substantial amount of space, e.g., under the hood of a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the useful life of heretofore known damper-containing pulleys is relatively short, and such pulleys cannot be readily assembled and/or inspected and/or repaired and/or replaced at the locale of actual use.